Our Pastor, Mark Adams, of Redland Baptist Church of Rockville, Maryland, always has a message in our church’s weekly newsletter. This one, written the week following the Super Bowl, I just had to share with you:
During the 2007-2008 NFL regular season, New England Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady set the record for most touchdown passes in a regular season, paving the way for his winning the MVP award. At the age of 30, he has already won three Super Bowls—an accomplishment that sets him apart as one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game.
In 2007 Tom Brady sat down for a television interview with 60 Minutes journalist Steve Kroft. In spite of all his fame and career accomplishments, Brady told Kroft that it felt like something was still lacking in his life. He said,
“Why do I have three Super Bowl rings and still think there’s something greater out there for me? I mean, maybe a lot of people would say, ‘Hey man, this is what it’s all about!’ I reached my goal, my dream, my life. Me? I think, ‘It’s got to be more than this.’ I mean this isn’t—this can’t be—all it’s cracked up to be.”
Kroft pressed Brady as to what the right answer was, and Brady added:
“What’s the answer? I wish I knew. I love playing football, and I love being quarterback for this team. But at the same time, I think there are a lot of other parts about me that I’m trying to find.”
Mr. Brady’s frustration sounds very much like that of another successful man. In Ecclesiastes 2:4ff King Solomon writes,
“I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. I owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired men and women singers, and a harem as well—the delights of the heart of man. I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.”
People like Brady are still “hungry and thirsty” because the successes of the world—no matter how great they may be—leave us feeling empty, as if we have “…chased after wind.” It is our responsibility as Christians to point them to Jesus Who said, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35)
We in Southern Gospel have a song, released about three years ago by the Talleys, which conveys it very clearly … THE ANSWER IS CHRIST!
Written by Chris Binion and Terry Wilkins … doesn’t the second verse describe Mr. Brady and so many others we read and hear about who appear to have everything but, in reality, are “lost in the wilderness”?
“You may be hurting
Desperately searching
For answers you can’t seem to find
So many choices wrestling with voices
You’re looking for some peace of mind …”
And then … the clear answer is wrapped up in the chorus . . .
“He is the hope for the hopeless
The water the giver of life
He is strength for the weary
Love for those cast aside
He gives rest to the restless
Freedom from fear
When things seem impossible
Know that he’s near
For all of the problems of life
The answer is Christ!”
Just a thought from yours truly,
Marlin
